themanupstairs

The reality is he could easily have missed. It wasn't a particularly powerful shot, it was straight at the keeper, but fortunately it went through his legs. I still don't think his form is particularly good. I don't think we should rigidly adhere to the mentality that it's all about the rest of the team creating chances for Cisse. We shouldn't be afraid to try other options ie Gouffran. Cronky what happened man The "reality" that he could have easily missed can be counter-argued by the "reality" that he could have scored from previous situations which he did miss. If you know anything about football, and I'm certain that you do, you'll understand what the goal meant for his confidence last night. Make no mistake, it was an emphatic finish. Well that's true, but I was simply stating a fact. He got himself into a good position, but it wasn't a great finish. It’s simply a matter of assessing what’s in front of us, rather than what we hope / expect to see. Perhaps Cisse is the best package available to us at the moment, but I don't think that's set in stone, given his overall contribution. And looking to the future, if we want to progress, we may need to look at better options. No doubt about it. We need an alternative that is not Ameobi. Cisse's form and general spirit seems to have lifted as of late, and that's all and well if he continues to play and score. Were he to get injured Jah forbid, we'd be totally fucked. Gouffran will get his chance to showcase his talents in front of goal. He strikes me as someone who understands that playing out wide does not mean he won't find himself in situations from which to score.

:thup: The best away support in the land bar none. Massive credit to every single one, and you could see it meant a lot to the players. Did they all come over to the fans at full time? Sure I saw Cisse gathering his teammates pointing them in the direction of the away end.

Clear as day that Agbonlahor stepped on Debuchy's foot, and fell to the ground. By the way what the fuck was up with their players? They really had a right go at us in terms of fouling us all over the place. Some dangerous tackles as well. Also noticed Westwood? give Jonas a shove just after he was booked. Was he trying to gode him into a reaction? Cunts.

The fucking subs heaped a huge amount of pressure on us again in the 2nd half. When the hell is Pardew going to realize that re-jigging the midfield time and time again, as randomly as he does, isn't going to preserve a lead? Fuck me it doesn;t take much to realize it! IMO what helped us weather the storm was Jonas' spat with Weimann and whoever else it was. That was soon after Villa had scored and his antics helped frustrate them, and slowed the game down. I don't like to see it, but under the circumstances last night he used his experience well to our advantage. We were facing a rampant home side by that point and he single handedly sucked the life out of them fannying about the way he did. After "that" day in May, it was perfect revenge.

Spot on. Also, Cisse pointed to where he wanted it, and Sissoko obliged without dallying for a second. That's the type of supply Cisse thrives on.

The reality is he could easily have missed. It wasn't a particularly powerful shot, it was straight at the keeper, but fortunately it went through his legs. I still don't think his form is particularly good. I don't think we should rigidly adhere to the mentality that it's all about the rest of the team creating chances for Cisse. We shouldn't be afraid to try other options ie Gouffran. Cronky what happened man The "reality" that he could have easily missed can be counter-argued by the "reality" that he could have scored from previous situations which he did miss. If you know anything about football, and I'm certain that you do, you'll understand what the goal meant for his confidence last night. Make no mistake, it was an emphatic finish.

Should have only come on for the last 5 minutes. It was in the last 5 minutes that he was effective anyway, making the clearances that he did. Have no problem with him being used in this way whatsoever. I have a major problem with him coming on when he did though, and it used up an extra sub for us, when we should have left it spare just in case. Coming on in injury time or 5 before that is not an issue, as he can be useful in situations like last night.

His reading of the game was absolutely superb. So good to see him play minus the niggly doubts.

As sweet a hit as you'll ever see. Sumptuous goal

Best performance of the season from this chap. Played like the top class keeper that he is.

That tackle would have done him the world of good. He will know, as we all do, that it was a match winning tackle.

dat pass

Yikes

Love nothing more than to see this taken away from them.

Alan Padre

Fucking tragic tbh. The lad has already come in raring to go. Was hoping we wouldn't deflate his eagerness from the off. Having said that, if he does come in and make a mistake it could also work against him. We'll see I suppose. Main thing is that he turns out to be a bigger character than we think and accepts that Taylor's experience in the league over his could turn out to be vital in this particular fixture.

Gouffran in the centre, Marv and Obertan either side. Ben Arfa will be back soon also. Oh and don't forget about Shola Honestly don't see why Campbell isn't used in these situations. He has a wonderful burst of speed on him that would be much more difficult to deal with if you're a tired CB/FB than a lumbering Shola.

Looking forward to what Pardew says about this today. Hopefully he'll wheel Colo out to sit beside him and give an honest account to put this shit to bed.

Aye. Definitely starting him.

Tomorrow night's team sheet is going to be one of the most eagerly awaited in a long while... I can just imagine the pulse an hour before kick off. Then 60 minutes of the most memorable forum meltdown when Simpson and Obertan starts and Perch displaces Anita in midfield. Ranger takes Gouffran's place on the bench. Get a hold of the game early and silence the crowd. He needs to ask the players to be brave, the new players to play their natural game and express themselves. This will put fear into Villa. If we start slowly and look hesitant and are too rigid I fear the worst. The players have to feel this is a fresh start and every game is winnable. There is more than enough resources now to put points on the board. But pard must be brave, he must give the players confidence and freedom. We'll see. The games against Chelsea and Spurs are the sort of games the new players came here to play. Pardew should instill the confidence in them (esp. Sissoko and MYM) that they can make the difference to us to win.

I was in shock from beating you to your mates nonarticle today Took Marley to the field Did he do his s***? Ermm yes Well there you have it. More useful than reading anything window slurp can write.

I was in shock from beating you to your mates nonarticle today Took Marley to the field Did he do his shit?

Poga what the fuck?? He still playing football?

I've lost whatever little trust I had in Pardew in the past few weeks, but f*** me how the hell would he get away with doing anything like you suggest? The circumstances are completely different to the above scenario. He is also a different person with different experience now! Is it not possible that he has learned something from that fiasco? Granted Pardew wasn't involved in what names we signed, but I'm fairly certain he knows our weaknesses, and will play the new players, moving heaven and earth for them in fact, as he knows they are the only chance we have of staying up. The circumstances are far from completely different - at West Ham, they were fighting against relegation just as we are now and it wasn't until he was pressured into playing Tevez regularly that they escaped....if you remember, Sheff Utd tried to get the Hammers relegated in their place because there was an irregularity with Tevez' registration or something and they said it was his goals that saved W Ham.... I do remember yes. 1) This was a few years ago, and Pardew will have learned from that 2) The Tevez/Mascherano transfers were dodgy, they didn't speak a word of English, and had no compatriots to help them settle in. Our new players will have a much easier time settling in.

I have a feeling he will be the one out of the new lot to make the most impact in the next couple of games. His pace alone will give Cisse a lot more room to operate within. Cisse needs to be busy positioning himself to get on the end of moves. Gouffran should be used to make all the tireless running for him.